Destiny War
by Hybreed33
Summary: Adversity is always something that living organisms struggle with. If transported upon a new world, how will this Locust Swarm prevail against modern humans, ancient magic, enormous monsters and advanced civilizations? By whatever means.


Subterranean lifestyle was frightening to most surface dwellers. The enclosed and rocky surfaces felt rough on human skin and would cause bleeding on their soft flesh. They would choke on the stale, dusty air that flowed between the caverns and tunnels. So little light, they couldn't see their own hands pressed against their face. They did not know how to live in constant strife, to live in such harrowing conditions.

We are The Swarm. Progeny of the Locust Horde and dwellers beneath the planets crust. We are numerous. We are prosperous. We are survivors. And we will thrive.

I do not know how nor why or when it occurred, neither do I know who's hand it was responsible for bringing The Locust Swarm to this world, but I know that for now survival and expansion will be our greatest pursuit. If only one quality of The Locust Horde had been carried onto the next generation, it had been the ability to survive.

I remember very little regarding life before the new world. The Locust Horde, a war fought out of desperation and need, the near extinction of The Locusts from a beam of bright blue light, and then The Rebirth. Beyond that, I recall nothing but flashing, blue lights and webbed shadows blowing across my vision. Now, The Swarm was the only world I could know.

When we first entered this world, we had the fortune of residing within a deep underground network of tunnels, very reminiscent of The Hollows that the old Locusts lived in. They seemed to have been dug out by a large subterranean creature similar to the Riftworm, though likely smaller in overall size.

The local fauna and flora were surprisingly abundant with many plants living off of a chemosynthetic lifestyle. Whether due to their diet or as some unintended result of evolution, many of these plants were of luminescent colors of green, yellow, blue, and red which created areas with strangely pleasant illumination. Though some regions lacked these plants and were without a modicum of light, such plants were still proliferating enough that it made living in these tunnels more effective for the visually inclined.

These tunnels dug deep, miles far below the surface and far from the scrutiny of the surface dwellers. Perhaps fortune had truly felt it generous to allow us to partake in both these tunnels and to have in possession the Corpsers, and it was nothing less than a miracle that a single Riftworm had been sent along with us. While inactive in its hibernation it none the less gave a spiritual purpose to the many Scions and Drones within The Swarm, increasing our morale and invigorating many with a greater sense of purpose.

But along with Corpsers and the Riftworm came many other creatures of The Hollows. Brumaks, Bloodmounts, Reavers, Kryll, Tickers, Barge beasts, so many other creatures that it would be difficult to name them all. These creatures quickly found their territory to feed, breed and reside in. Sooner too did we begin to hunt and tame many of these beasts for our own usage from digging tunnels and mining to being used as weapons and vehicles. Some were also used as food and clothing as they lacked a certain… aggressive quality that would have made them useful in other aspects.

Our own numbers had been limited upon our arrival to this underground environment. Barely more than several thousand Drones and Juvies had arrived along with less than a sixth as many Snatchers, Pounders and Carriers.

Our Scions were even less numerous with barely a thousand having entered alongside us. Thankfully, there were enough females, Scion Berserkers, that if safeguarded while breeding it would be possible to continuously expand the population of our elites. The only other creature that was more scarce than the Scions was the Hive Beast, an enormous creature larger than any Brumak yet smaller than the Riftworm. It came as the only one of its kind but it would suffice until The Swarm had more resources to invest in birthing more. Their main propose was to be used as a last defense for our main strongholds and to act as guardians for significantly developed Hives.

Though we began with limited numbers and resources, our tenacity, single minded unity and adaptability to strenuous environments allowed us to grow in strength and numbers. We hollowed out areas to create living quarters for our Drones, holding pens and dens were constructed for the beasts of burden while elaborate fortresses were built to house and protect our Scions, to give them room to breed and command the lesser creatures. More pods were birthed in newly established Hives and scores of scurrying and leaping Juvies were born, soon ready to become newly birthed Imago. We mined and created weapons for our warriors as well as armor and great tools of destruction for the larger beasts.

We expanded for several lifetimes of Scions and Drones, with no other way of recording time since the underground has neither day or night, and soon had conquered what was once a meager network of tunnels and caverns into a bastion of fortresses, Hives and mating grounds.

Millions of Drones mingled within the Hives alongside Carriers, Snatchers and Pouncers while keeping track of newly hatched Juvies and Imago. Our Scions now numbered in the lesser millions from careful breeding of the females and males, which would allow The Swarm to now make effective use of its elite warrior cast. With no longer having to worry about the Scions dwindling in numbers The Swarm could now have its Scions lead legions of Drones, beasts and monsters to battle with impunity.

But taking the battle to the surface would be no easy task. From observations done by our scouts I was able to construct an accurate map of the continents, islands and various kingdoms that inhabited the upper lands. It was an extensive network with many kingdoms interlocking with each other, some in conflict with their neighbors or in a state of aggressive peace, while others were blissfully unaware of larger and more terrifying kingdoms across the blue oceans.

It would be months maybe years before we would launch an attack on the ground walkers, so much planning would be needed to account for the various species and their weapons of war. While some barely have anything beyond swords and shields, others can make use of horrifying weapons that can destroy entire cities in the blink of an eye.

Yes, it would take time, considerable thought and the allocation of many resources before The Swarm would be prepared to advance on the ground walkers and their territory. It would take an enormous toll on our numbers even by the most generous estimations. There would be the possibility that our underground homes would be discovered and… become nothing more than memory to us.

But we cannot wait. We cannot hide beneath the dirt forever. We must not allow the surface dwellers to strike us first, to discover our existence and stop our growth of strength. We _must_ adapt, expand our territory, uncover new knowledge, find new lands to populate and grow.

We will live, and we will be remembered. By ourselves or by our enemies, we will be remembered.


End file.
